Clutch control



p 2, 1935. J, J. DRAB IN HAL 1,996,282

CLUTCH CONTROL Filed Sept. 15, 1934 22 9 93 I I 92 0 E3 89 za 2 9/ 90 J U 87 a2 3 l3 8/ JOHN J DRAB/N 4 SERGE MKouucHkov INVENTORS ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 2, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLUTCH CONTROL John J. Drabin and Serge N. Koulichkov, New York, N. Y.

Application September 15, 1934, Serial No. 744,190

13 Claims. (Cl. 192-.01)

Our invention relates to clutch control and movement of the valve under action of the has particular reference to the control of the spring. A bleeder slot H is provided in the clutch operating auxiliary motor by the accelvalve for connecting the inside of the cylinder erator and brake pedals. 5 with the outside air when the valve is closed.

5 The object of our invention is to provide The T-shaped head of the valve has a hole I1 5 means for automatically disconnecting the enat one side in which slides a rod l8 pivotally gine clutch when the accelerator pedal is re-' connected with an accelerator pedal IS. A leased, and for connecting the clutch when the bushing 20 onthe rod engages the head and accelerator pedal is depressed; also to provide pushes the valve down into a closed position 10 means for connecting the clutch by the first porwhen the accelerator pedal is depressed. A rod 10 tion of the movement of the accelerator pedal 2| is pivo all Connected With the rod 18 at one before this pedal begins to open the engine end and slides in the end of a lever 22 operating throttle valve. a throttle valve 23 in a carburetor pipe 24. A

Another object of our invention is to provide retri ving sprin 25 nds to p the valve 3 means for independent operation of the clutch closed, in which position only enough of the fuel 15 motor valve by either the accelerator pedal or by mixture is admitted to the engine to keep it the brake pedal. The connections between the slowly going or idling. The rod 2| has a bushvalve and the pedals are made for this purpose ing 26 placed at a certain distance away from so that they can become operative only when the end of the lever 22, so that the accelerator the corresponding pedal is depressed. pedal does not begin to open the valve 23 until 20 Still another object of our invention is to proit has been moved into a position II shown with vide means for disconnecting the connections dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position the valve between the clutch motor valve and the brake l is closed. pedal when the speed of the automobile falls be- The other side of the head M has a lug 21 low a predetermined limit. For this purpose we forming a seat for a roller 28 on the end of a lever 25 provide a slidable rod connecting the valve and 29. The latter is pivoted by its middle portions the brake pedal, and means for moving this rod in a lug 30 on the brake pedal 3| passing through out of engagement when the speed of the transthe floor board 32 of the automobile. The other mission driven shaft falls below a certain low end 33 of the lever is engaged by a compression 30 limit. spring 34 on a rod 35 passing through a hole in 30 We also provide means to manually disconthe lever and provided with a bushing or enlargenect the automatic operation of the clutch when ment 36 limiting the outward movement of the so desired by the driver of the automobile. lever. An iron armature 31 is supported on the Our invention is more fully described in the end of the lever opposite a magnet core 38 35 accompanying specification and drawing in mounted on the brake pedal. A coil 39 is placed 35 which on the core and is connected by flexible leads 40 Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparawith leads 4| and 42. The lead 4| is connected tus forming our system of clutch control, Fig. 2 with a contact block 43 engaged by a second conis a modified arrangement, Fig. 3 is a detail view tact block 44 mounted on a resilient arm 45 40 of a modified centrifugal switch, and Fig. 4 is a which tends to move the block 44 away from the 40 detail view of the contact points on the speedblock 43. An insulation roller 46 on the end of a ometer. lever 4'! engages the block 44, being pressed Our clutch control arrangement comprises a against it by a compression spring 48. The lever valve I slidably fitted in a valve block 2 placed 41 is pivoted in a bracket 48' supported on the 45 in a pipe 3 connecting an intake manifold 4 of under side of the dashboard 49. The other end 45 an automobile engine with a vacuum cylinder 5. of the lever 47 engages a bushing 50 on a rod 5| The latter has a piston 6 connected by a rod 1 slidably supported in the dashboard and in a with a lever 8 engaging a bushing 9 of an enbearing 52. The rod 5| has a notch 53 engaged gine clutch plate It. A spring H tends to press by a sliding pin 54 with rounded end fitting the 59 the plate l0 against the face of a flywheel |2 notch 53. A spring 55 presses the pin against the 50 thereby engaging the clutch and connecting the notch. In this position the other end of the rod engine with the transmission. 5| touches the head B4 of the valve when the The valve has a retrieving spring I3 pressing. latter is open. A second notch 56 is provided on against an elongated head H and tending to the rod 5! for a closed position of the valve. A

$5 keep the valve open, a bushing |5 limiting the knob or handle 51 on the end of the rod 5| is 55 provided for moving the rod by hand. The block 44 through its arm 45 is connected by a lead 58 with a contact plate 59 on the dial 88 of a speedometer. The plate 59 reaches a point on the dial where the speed indicating hand 5| reaches when the speed of the automobile drops to a certain low limit beyond which there is a danger of the engine being stalled.

The hand 8| is grounded to the frame or chassis of the automobile. It has a resilient contact lip 82 sliding over the dial. The latter is provided with a button or projection 58 in front of the end of the plate 59 which also has a projection 84. The object of these projections is to cause the lip 82 to snap between the on and OH positions thereby avoiding burning of the contact points. These projections are shown in detail in Fig. 4.

The lead 42 is connected to a post supporting a resilient arm 68 with a contact block 81 on the end. This block is located between stationary contact block.88 and a movable contact block 69 supported on the end of a resilient arm III. The latter is connected by a lead. 'II with the lamp of a stop signal I2, the other terminal of the lamp being grounded. The block 69 is engaged by an insulation block I3 on a lever 14 rotatively mounted on a pivot 15 and adaptedto be engaged by the pedal 3| through a sliding rod I5 with a spring TI. The stationary block 88 is connected by a lead I8 with a storage battery I9 the other terminal of which is grounded.

The operation of our system is as follows.

The normal position of the valve is open, so that with the engine running there is vacuum in the right side of the cylinder 5. The atmospheric pressure on the piston 8 will move it to the right as shown in Fig. 1 thereby disconnecting the engine clutch plate II) from the flywheel I2. In this position of the clutch the transmission gears can be shifted for starting the car forward or into the reverse. The car will not move, however, until the clutch is connected, and this can happen only if the valve I is closed and the air is admitted into the cylinder 5 through the bleeder slot I8 and pipe 3. An exhaust port 98 is provided in the cylinder 5.

The bushing 20 on the rod I8 is placed so that the valve I becomes closed and the bleeder slot I6 connected with the pipe 3 during the first portion of the movement of the accelerator pedal, between positions I and 11, Fig. 1. The valve then remains closed for the rest of the movement of the pedal I9. Due to the arrangement of the bushing 28 at a distance from the lever 22, however, the throttle valve 23 does not begin to be opened until the accelerator pedal reaches the position II. The spring 25 may be made sufliciently strong in comparison with the spring I9 so that the driver will readily feel the diiference in the resistance of the pedal after it has reached the position II when the resistance of the spring 25 adds to that of the spring I9. The engine is still idling for all accelerator pedal positions between points I and II. This arrangement is provided in order to enable the driver to use the engine as a brake in going down hill, and it is only necessary for that purpose to slightly depress the accelerator pedal until the vacuum cylinder or motor 5 begins to be released thereby permitting the spring II to engage the clutch.

The same result is accomplished by operating the brake pedal 3|, which also closes the valve I through the lever 29. The accelerator pedal need not be touched then as the action of the brake pedal alone will cause the clutch to be engaged. The head I4 will then slide over the extension of the rod I8 without moving the accelerator pedal. The stop light I2 becomes connected with the battery 19 as soon as the brake pedal closes the switch formed by the lever I4, resilient arm I8, and the contact points 88, 69 and 81, the latter being on the resilient arm 66. Incidentally this switch will also close the circuit up to the plate 59 through the switch formed of the contact blocks 43 and 44 which are kept closed by the roller 46 of the arn'i 41 under action of the spring 48.

The engine will act as a brake until the speed of the automobile falls below a certain limit when there is a danger that the engine might become stalled. The contact plate 59 is set for this point. It may be mounted on an insulation board 80 which can be fastened with suitable screws to the face of the dial 88 and can be placed in different positions for different low speed limits. A thin silver brush may be used instead of the contact strip 82.

As soon as the contact strip 82 snaps from the ridge 63 on the plate 59, the magnet 38 will become energized, provided the switch 68 is closed by thebrake pedal. The armature 31 will be attracted, turning the lever 29 and disengaging the roller 28 from the bar I4. The valve I, being thereby released, will return to its open position under action of the retrieving spring I3. The engine will be free from the transmission with the clutch released, and will continue running at the idling speed, although the automobile will be slowed down to the complete stop if desired.

The automatic clutch-disconnecting feature can be disconnected by the driver by merely pushing down on the handle 51 until the notch 56 becomes engaged by the locking pin 54. The rod 5| will then depress the valve I closing it, while the switch 45 will be opened by the spring on the switch arm, so that no current will fiow into the magnet coil.

Instead of using speedometer for closing the circuit for the magnet coil, a special centrifugal governor may be employed consisting of weights 8| on a shaft 82 (Figs. 2 and 3) driven by the shaft 83 connecting the transmission with the rear wheels of the automobile. A sliding bushing 84 of the governor closes a switch 86 connected with the lead 58 thereby grounding it and completing the circuit for the magnet coil.

Another modification is shown in Fig. 2. Here the governor weights 8| are connected to a sliding bushing 81 having pins or trunnions 88 engaging the end of a lever 89. The latter is pivotally mounted on a pin 90 supported on the side of the transmission housing 93. The other end of the lever is pivotally connected with a rod 9| connected at the other end with a rod 92. This rod is pivoted at one end in the lug 38 on the brake pedal 8|, the other end having a roller 28 engaging the end ofv the valve head I4. The governor springs 94 become straightened out along the shaft 82, pushing the bushing 81 up and turning the lever 89, thereby pulling out the rod 92 and disconnecting the brake pedal from the valve I.

It is understood that the construction of individual elements used in our system can be modified without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Important advantages of our system of clutch control are that it eliminates the use of the clutch pedal, theclutchbeing automatically disengaged every time the accelerator pedal is released, permitting the ordinary gear shifting operations while the engine is idling, and also permitting the automobile to coast down hill with the engine disconnected and idling; the engine, however, can be made to act as a brake in going down hill by merely depressing the accelerator pedal through the first portion of its travel, thereby closing the valve for the clutch motor and engaging the clutch, without increasing the engine speed. In order to use the engine as a brake at very slow speeds, for instance, when second or first gears are used, it is only necessary to disconnect the automatic control by pushing on the handle 51. Another advantage is that the engine is used as a brake whenever the brake pedal is depressed, but only until the automobile speed reaches a certain low limit of speed, when the engine becomes automatically disconnected so as to prevent its being stalled. The automobile may then be brought to a complete stop, the engine continuing to run at the idling speed.

We claim as our invention:

1. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, a vacuum motor for said clutch, an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, in combination a pipe connecting said motor with the source of vacuum suction on said engine, a valve in said pipe, 2. retrieving spring for opening said valve thereby rendering said motor operative for disconnecting said clutch, operative connections between said valve and said pedals, said connections being adapted to be operative only when either of said pedals is depressed, said valve being thereby adapted to be closed independently by either of said pedals, and means to render said brake pedal connections inoperative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined limit.

2. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, a vacuum motor for said clutch, an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, in combination a pipe connecting said motor with the source of vacuum suction on said engine, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for said valve adapted to open it thereby rendering said motor operative for disconnecting said clutch, operative connections between said valve and said pedals, said connections being adapted to be operative only when either of said pedals is being depressed, said valve being thereby adapted to be independently closed by either of said pedals, and means to render said brake pedal connections inoperative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined limit, said accelerator pedal being adapted to close said valve before opening the throttle valve ofsaid engine.

3. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, a vacuum motor for disconnecting said clutch, and accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a speedometer, in combination a pipe connecting said motor with the intake manifold of said engine, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for opening said valve, operative connections between said valve and said accelerator pedal, operative connections between said valve and said brake pedal, said accelerator and brake pedal connections being operative only when said pedals are being depressed, said valve being thereby adapted to be independently closed by either of said pedals, an electromagnetic means for rendering said brake pedal connections inoperative, and contact points on said speedometer adapted to close the electric circuit for said electromagnetic means when said speedometer indicates a predetermined slow speed of said automobile.

4. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, a vacuum motor for disconnecting said clutch, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a speedometer, in combination a pipe connecting said motor with the engine intake manifold, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for opening said valve, connections between said valve and said accelerator pedal, said connections being adapted to be operative only when accelerator pedal is being depressed, a pivoted lever connecting said brake pedal with said valve and adapted to form an operative connection only when said brake pedal is being depressed, an electromagnetic means for moving said lever out of engagement with said valve, and means to render said electromagnetic means operative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined low limit.

5. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, a vacuum motor for disconnecting said clutch, and a brake pedal, in combination a pipe connecting said motor with the intake manifold of said engine, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for opening said valve, connections between said valve and said pedal, said connections being adapted to be operative only when said pedal is depressed, an electromagnetic means for rendering said connections inoperative regardless of the position of said pedal, and means to render said electromagnetic means operative when the speed of said auto-- mobile falls below a predetermined low limit.

6. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with said engine, and a brake pedal, in combination a valve in said pipe, 9. retrieving means for opening said valve, a rod connecting said valve with said pedal and adapted to form an operative connection only when said pedal is depressed, said rod being adapted to be moved sideways thereby disconnecting said valve from said pedal, an elec tromagnetic means for moving said rod sideways,

and means to render said electromagnetic means operative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined low limit.

7. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with said engine, a brake pedal, and a speedometer, in combination a valve in said pipe, 9. retrieving" means for opening said valve, means to close said valve by said pedal, an electromagnetic means for rendering said closing means inoperative, and electrical contact points on said speedometer for rendering said electromagnetic means oper ative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined low limit.

8. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with said engine, a brake pedal, and a speedometer, in combination a valve in said pipe, 9. retrieving means for opening said valve, means to close said valve by said pedal, an electromagnetic means for rendering said closing means inoperative, electrical contact points on said speedometer for rendering said electromagnetic means operative when the speed of the automobile falls below a predetermined low limit, and means to prevent sparking at said contact points.

9. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said air motor with said engine, a brake pedal, and an accelerator pedal, in combination a valve in said pipe, a resilient means for opening said valve, means to close said valve by said accelerator pedal, means to close said valve by said brake pedal, and means to manually close said valve, all said closing means being adapted to act independently from each other.

10. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with said engine, a brake pedal, and an accelerator pedal, in combination, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for opening said valve, means to close said valve by said accelerator pedal, means to close said valve by said brake pedal, means to manually close said valve thereby ren dering said valve connections to the pedals inoperative, and means to yieldingly lock said manual means in its operative position.

11. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with the engine, and a brake pedal, in combination, a valve in said pipe, means to close said valve by said brake pedal thereby rendering said air motor inoperative, an electromagnetic means for rendering said closing means inoperative, a centrifugal device for rendering said electromagnetic means operative when the speed of said automobile falls below a predetermined low limit, and a manual means for rendering said electromagnetic means inoperative regardless of. the speed of said automobile.

12. A clutch control for an automobile having 7 an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with the engine of said automobile, and a brake pedal, in combination, a valve in said pipe, a retrieving spring for opening said valve thereby rendering said clutch motor operative, a connecting member between said pedal and said valve adapted to close said valve when said pedal is depressed, an electromagnetic means for rendering said connecting member inoperative, a centrifugal device operated by the driven shaft of the transmission of said automobile and adapted to render said electromagnetic device operative when the speed of said automdbile falls below a predetermined low limit, and a manual means for closing said valve and for rendering said electromagnetic means inoperative.

13. A clutch control for an automobile having an engine clutch, an air motor for disconnecting said clutch, a pipe connecting said motor with the engine, a throttle valve on the intake manifold of said engine, and an accelerator pedal, in combination, a valve in said pipe, a spring for open- JOHN J..DRABIN. SERGE N. KOULICHKOV. 

